Good choce of boats. the 17 footer is a great boat. I own a 16 : (
I have 9.5 cataracts with the magnum blades........they rock. I liked Bobs Idea of ctting back the oarrites. A better way to go is to get a hold of Clackacraft boats and get the rubber donuts with the little [Bleeeeep!] the slides in the oar lock when the oars slide down. They work great for keeping your oars upright when anchored wich in turns keeps the boat from swinging.
Oar rites or more o a hinderance than anything else, I gave mine away.


P.S. stick with cataract oars, they re super strong. the pair I have were on a boat that sank when the rower wedged one in a log jam. The oar flexed a ton but never broke, The oar lock broke as the boat went over. and the sawyer wood blade that was on it snapped also. The shaft is as good as new.